Was born into the family of a doctor and amateur artist Harry Caswell Noland. The father of the future artist painted in his spare time and allowed Kenneth to use his paints and canvases. In childhood, the boy was much impressed by the exhibition of paintings by Monet, which he visited in Washington.
April 10, 1924, Asheville, North Carolina (the USA) - January 5, 2010, Port Clyde, Maine (the USA)
Kenneth Noland
description
Kenneth Noland was an American artist, a bright representative of Colour field painting. He created an alternative to abstract expressionism and action painting, practising strict abstraction, the absence of an object and a subject in art, bright colours evenly applied to the surface of the canvas. Following American artist Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland began to use acrylic paints, which made it possible to create a thin and saturated coating, eliminating the appearance of random spots and smudges on the canvas surface.
Having abandoned the volumetric space and excluded any emotional influences on the work and even the individuality of the author, Noland developed a unique painting style, which boils down to simple geometric forms. Concentric circles, coloured stripes and chevrons are figures that can most often be seen in the artist’s works. Kenneth Noland’s paintings do not have content, narration, depth or philosophy of design. They are only colour combinations that can affect a person’s consciousness on their own, without any additional stimulation and semantic content.
Influential American critic and art theorist Clement Greenberg included Kenneth Noland in the list of the most influential abstract artists, combining them under the general name “Post-painting abstraction”. The work of the American artist had a significant influence on the development of several art movements, including Hard-edge, Minimalism and the Washington School of Colour.
Key ideas:
– The art of the American artist is based on colour theories and the inventions of his predecessors. First of all, this is the Orphism of Robert and Sonya Delaunay, as well as the theory of the “interaction of colours” by Joseph Albers. Of great importance for the formation of Noland’s style was his acquaintance with American artist Helene Frankenthaler, who used liquid but opaque paints and juxtaposed bold and bright colours in her works.
– In his work, Kenneth Noland came close to complete abstraction. He sought to eliminate the human factor from his works completely. Working with a roller, the artist achieved a uniform distribution of colour, excluding spontaneous spots and drips of paint. These paintings were intended to study the emotional reaction of a person to various colour combinations, without distracting them with additional content or narration. The artist also sought to avoid a standard comparison of the depicted object and the background. His works have no depth, and the only factor that is present in the painting is colour and its various combinations.
– The artist painted with acrylic pigment, which was best suited for his ideas – it had a bright colour palette and was easily absorbed into an uncoated canvas. The artist’s first abstract works were in the form of colour spots, which later transformed into concentric circles resembling targets for shooting. These images had nothing to do with targets; just Kenneth Noland believed that colours applied in this order most closely touch and affect each other.
– In the late period, the artist switched to abstractions in the form of strips (chevrons) colliding at an acute angle or simply wide and long strips of different colours located on large canvases.
1924
1942
1946
1948
1949
1951
1952
1958
1961
1964
1977
1985
Was born into the family of a doctor
Enlisted in the Air Force
Immediately after graduation, he enlisted in the Air Force. He served there four years because the Second World War began at that time.
Entered Black Mountain College
After returning from the army, he entered Black Mountain College, which practised an innovative experimental approach to student training. In addition to painting, the college program included training in choreography, music and theater. Teachers Ilya Bolotovsky and Josef Albers had the greatest influence on Noland.
Went to Paris
He went to Paris, where he studied with avant-garde sculptor Ossip Zadkine. During this period, Noland’s painting became abstract. In Paris, Noland’s paintings were first presented at a solo exhibition at the Galerie Raymond Creuze.
Returned to the United States
Returned to the United States, and began teaching at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Washington. Later, the artist also taught at Catholic University in the District of Columbia and the Center for the Arts in Washington. At that time, he met artist Maurice Louis, who became his friend.
Married Cornelia Langer
Married Cornelia Langer, a daughter of a senator. The couple had three children, but after several years they divorced.
Visited the studio of Helen Frankenthaler
Together with Louis, he visited the studio of Helen Frankenthaler, where he got acquainted with her unique technique of filling a non-primed canvas with liquid paints. The finds of the American artist had a strong influence on Noland and encouraged him to change his style radically.
He began to create paintings in the form of concentric circles
He began to study colour relationships and create paintings in the form of concentric circles of different colours. These works are called “targets.”
Moved to a new stage in his work - the creation of the so-called "chevrons"
Bought a farm in Vermont and began spending a lot of time in New York. The artist exhausted the possibilities of colour circles and moved to a new stage in his work – the creation of the so-called “chevrons”, abstract compositions in the form of coloured stripes converging at an acute angle.
Participated in the exhibition of representatives of Post-painterly abstraction
Participated in the exhibition of representatives of Post-painterly abstraction, organized by Clement Greenberg at the State Art Museum of Los Angeles. In the same year, he took part in the 32nd Venice Biennale. Apart from Noland, such artists as Morris Louis, Jasper Jones and Robert Rauschenberg presented the USA.
A retrospective exhibition of Kenneth Noland was held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York
A retrospective exhibition of Kenneth Noland was held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Later, the exhibition moved to the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and was shown in several other major cities in America.
Became a professor at the prestigious private Bard College
He became a professor at the prestigious private Bard College, in the state of New York. The artist’s works of the late period are figured canvases with intersecting lines, as well as various interpretations of earlier targets and chevrons.
Kenneth Noland
On Artist
flow
Neoplasticism
Suprematism
Abstract Expressionism
Colour field painting
Post-painterly abstraction
friends
Barnett Newman
Clement Greenberg
Maurice Louis
Helen Frankenthaler
David Smith
artists
Paul Klee
Piet Mondrian
Josef Albers
Ossip Zadkine
By Artist
flow
Post-painterly abstraction
friends
Barnett Newman
artists
Frank Stella
Ellsworth Kelly
Donald Judd
Jules Olitski